Domestic Violence (Skinny Girl in Transit S6E10 - It's Complicated)

  One thing that isn’t so complicated in this episode, is the fact that Kwame is an abuser. I hope Shalewa sees the “writings on the wall” before she gets in too deep.

This is one of the reasons I love Skinny Girl in Transit [SGIT]; it depicts common and realistic human behaviors. In a way, creating awareness on issues that people don’t fully understand.

Getting back to my main point, domestic violence. It is very much present in a lot of relationships. According to USATODAY, domestic violence in United States, happens every 15 seconds with four women losing their lives daily on average. In a recent post, NBCChicago, stated that Chicago’s hotline received the highest daily volume on March 30th, 2020, with 104 calls. This, it attributed to the stay-at- home order caused by the pandemic. Wow! just wow. Saddening, but very much true. Worldbank, pointed that 35% of women worldwide have experienced some form of violence in their lives. Yeah, I know what you are going to say next. Men, too are victims of domestic violence. Anyone can be prey to domestic violence, but with women reporting a higher cases. According to statistics from CDC, women experience more Intimate partner violence than men, with the numbers being 1 in every 4 women vs 1 in every 10 men.

A lot of people will ask, “ how the heck are you still in that relationship?’ or “ How didn’t you see the writing on the wall?” We as humans should understand that things are different when looking in from outside. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence. The main deal is to seek help early and know that you the victim wasn’t at fault. As non-victims, we should be helpful and supportful of the victims, not laying blames. We should be free of any bias, and should be quick to offer any form of help.

In episodes 9 and 10 of SGIT, Kwame has physically and verbally abused Shalewa. When Shalewa confronted him about it, he apologized and promised not to do that again. In this episode, Kwame, hit Shalewa because she broke a glass cup by mistake. I promise you, he is going to go above and beyond in asking for forgiveness, only to do the same thing all over again or even worse. I just hope, Shalewa will be able to recognize the writing on the wall, and leave Kwame before she looses her life next.


Please, please.. it’s not too late to seek help. Know that you are loved and your life is way more important.

Domestic Violence Hotline : 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
- available 24/7 in more than 200 languages
- All calls are free and confidential